Bailey and Katy came to us as rescues. We lost Bailey in June of 2016. We were blessed to have Annie join us in August of 2016. They have brought great love and joy to our immediate family and to extended family and friends. This blog will share their stories and issues related to Shelties. Some told from their perspective and others told from those that share this journey with them.

Monday, June 26, 2017

Don't be deceived by this charming photograph. We've been up to plenty of mischief. Mom likes the cute sweet pictures to remember us by. Normally she's too busy cleaning up the messes to take the pictures. However, you can clearly see that we've been up to no good and she's wants something cute to balance the scales.

Friday, June 23, 2017

Happy Birthday my beautiful girl. You have had such a big year. I was so worried about you when you lost Bailey. You withdrew into yourself and we kept pushing to find you a companion. Last July was truly a hard month for you. While you mourned Bailey you also couldn't adjust to living alone. I'm so glad we found Annie and the two of you have become such wonderful friends.

Last year you also experienced your first dog friendly vacation and you were so brave. I was so impressed with how you handled all the challenges of being away from home.

You have payed forward the kindness shown to you by Bailey, by helping Annie to adjust to her new home, too. While her needs were different than yours, you have found ways to meet those and I've been so proud of how you have helped her to fit in here.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl. May this be a much more peaceful and joy filled year.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

It is hard to believe it was a year ago that we lost Bailey. He was such an important part of our lives for 13 years and then he was gone.

My DH had never had a dog growing up and you couldn't have asked for a more perfect first dog than Bailey. It is unusual to get a purebred puppy from a breed rescue, but over the years I just came to believe Bailey was meant to be a member of our family. The route just had a couple of extra stops until he made it to us. He was gentle, sweet, kind, and his mischief was manageable especially after we all enrolled in obedience school to learn that cuteness does not excuse bad behavior.

Bailey was good with kids and dogs alike. When dogs got loose in the neighborhood, Bailey could often calm them enough that they could be captured by nervous owners and brought home. When my grandmother required nursing home care Bailey was a frequent visitor. Not only did he spend time with her, but he seemed to know which patients needed him and he had a route he visited on the way in and out to stop and comfort those who would welcome him. He seemed to sense those who were afraid or hostile to dogs and stayed away.

He loved to play ball and Frisbee and even as he got older and stiffer he would continue to try to leap up and grab both ball and disk. He also loved his stuffed animals. Annie has started sleeping with one of the teddy bears Bailey got as a puppy That's how gentle he was with his toys.

I'm not sure where Katy would be today without Bailey's love and encouragement. She was do withdrawn and scared when she came to us. I still credit Bailey's love and encouragement for the greatest progress she made in those early months. She felt safe and protected with him and she slowly came out of her shell to realize the world was nearly as scary a place as she had thought. He encouraged her to explore, but sheltered her when she was scared. At times she literally would almost hide under him when we were out in public and people approached. Today she is has confidence and the ability to handle challenging situations because he stood with her when she didn't.

One thing that truly impressed me with Bailey is the way he could read people. Family and friends who were afraid or had little interest in dogs loved Bailey. He had a way of charming them, overcoming their fears, and getting people to relax around him. It was a beautiful gift. My only regret is I didn't have the resources to train Bailey as a therapy dog. I think he had a great untapped gift that I kept to myself.

On this day I just want to thank him for the 13 amazing years he gave us. My darling angel you truly were a great blessing in our lives.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

We have been after Mom to post again. She has so many excuses. Mostly I think she just enjoys playing with us too much to bother with her frustrations with her technology challenges.

She was sure she'd be posting constantly about all of Annie's adorable cuteness, but instead selfishly has been keeping it all to herself.

Truly it has been amazing watching the bond grow between Annie and Katy. Even in the summer heat prior to the A/C's being installed they rarely were napping without being in touching distance of one another. Now with the cool air flowing they are back to snuggling. I have no idea if this is a Sheltie trait, but Katy and Bailey were smugglers and I wasn't sure how things would work out with Annie and Katy. Annie wanted Katy's attention, but Katy wasn't too sure at the beginning. While this picture show's Annie's paw on Katy's behind it has generally been Katy getting them to settle down together.

They are hard at work on their critter flushing and after some adjustment have developed techniques for working together which are rather interesting to watch. Annie is faster than Katy, but Katy is more fearless, so the two work hard to rid the yard of bunnies, squirrels, and other critters. Lately they've been falling short on the garter snakes much to my dismay. Katy was keeping them away from me, but she's been distracted with keeping an eye on Annie's finds as of late and I've encountered three snakes recently. Could be same snake over three days, but just as freaky each day.